Mark whiz

Well, I finally got to the range Friday to do some experimentation with some new bullets & 3fg Triple 7 powder in my Knight USAK inline rifle. Overall, I can say I was delighted in what I saw and learned, so I' m passing my observations on to ya' ll in the hopes it can help you too. I' ll start off by saying that I' ve been using 2fg Triple 7 for a year now & have been quite pleased with the results...................until today that is (not that this is a bad thing). Let me list some general observations about today' s session of about 50 rds fired at a distance of 50 meters:

1) Precision Rifle makes the best dang muzzleloading bullets in the world - bar none!!
2) If you' re going to use any of the PowerBelt/ Black Belt bullets with 3fg Triple 7, make sure you loosen the powercheck cup on the bullet - even to the point of trimming a little plastic out of the center hole and adding a drop of oil to the connection..............otherwise don' t expect the cup to fall off of the bullet when fired. I shot 9 Black Belts today with 3fg and only 2 cups came off of the 9 rds, drastically affecting accuracy. Accuracy was still good enough for hunting large animals (about 3" groups) - but far short of what you' re about to see.
3) 3fg Triple 7 gives OUTSTANDING accuracy with bullets weighing over 300gr - whether they be HPs, ballistic tips, or flat nose. When shot in comparison to 2fg (same powder charge & bullet) - the 3fg groups were 1/2 the size of the 2fg groups.
4) 2fg Triple 7 gives better accuracy on 300gr bullets (and I' m assuming the same for bullets of under 300gr weight). When using either a PR QT or Hornady XTP in 300gr, the 2fg group was 1/2 the size of the 3fg group.

Go to this link and left click on each photo to see my best targets for the day, complete with the load setting in the captions:

http://community.webshots.com/album/66414501RJKYAr

These loads may or may not work as well for you, depending on your gun - but my 22" , 1:28" twisted barrelled, #11CCI Mag-capped Knight is a happy camper tonight (and the owner feels pretty good too)!

sr.corndog

Thanks Mark for the advice I also shoot a knight but a wolverine II nickel. My shoulder is a little sore but about sundown I will be in the back pasture hoping old tom will wander my way!
charlie
I will start using your power and I like my sabot bullets.

Mark whiz

Well Charlie,

The good news is that the Wolverine & USAK are practically the same gun - just different stocks & trigger groups. So similar powders & bullets should perform similiarly in both guns - at least in theory.

Good Luck

herman

Mark you didn' t have any coments on the fouling of the t7,can you tell your experience on it and getting the bullets down the barrel,such as what you did between shots?
Reason I am interested I am trying the t7 agin this year but in a 45 cal encore.Went to the range Sunday got a few shots before the rain started.The first shot with a clean barrel I didn' t have a problem getting the bullet down the barrel,2nd shot licked a patch ran it down the barrel,turned it over ran it back down the barrel,same as I do with pyrodex.started the bullet got it in about an inch past the false muzzle,got stuck had to take apart and knock the bullet back out.Cleaned the barrel good while I had it apart,shot another bullet,this time between shots I really gave the spit patch several swabs working up and down the barrel,turned the patch over and did the same the bullet went down the barrel good that time.
I only tried 100 grs,in 3f, but the last 3 shots I got a 1.09 in group at 100 yds.with a 195 gr bullet. Am sure it will do better before deer season.
Since you are trying the t7 was wandering what problems you had with reloading.

1SHOT_1KILL

Mark, while using T7, have you encountered any froozen or stuck breech plugs? I have heard that T7 is notorious for sticking and freezing breach plugs like crazy, after just a few shots. That is one reason I have not shot any T7 and probably won' t.

herman

1-shot,
I did have a problem at first but T/C sent me a tube of their greese and it worked well but then I found some Gorilla Grease (think it is theirs also)and it worked good too.Shot around 40 rounds sunday and only checked the breech plug one time at the range after 10 shots was ok,didn' t take it out again untill I cleaned it when I got home was alittle tight but came out ok.with the knight greese I had to use a monkey wrench to get it out after several shots.
You' re not going to try it in that Savage are you??

1SHOT_1KILL

No I am not going to try it in my Savage' s, since there is no need. I know of some who have shot T7 and have had breech plugs stuck tight. One individual sent me his Savage, that had been shot with T7, and the breech plug was stuck so tight I had to machine it out and install a new one. He was using Permatex copper Anti-Seize, that you use on automobile exhaust header bolts.

herman

I know what you mean on the breech plug, I thought I was going to break the monkey wrench last year but it finally came loose.I tried the permatex in the silver too but was just to messy,and it would get every where and had to use gasoline to clean it off the breech plug when I cleaned it.
I said last year that I wouldn' t try the T7 but here this sucker is trying it again.So far it is not doing too bad I am learning as I go how to swab the barrel between shots.to get the bullets down the barrel.Probably will end up using the pyrodex select,like in the 50 cal before its over.
Have you heard anything more about the Savage in 45 cal yet?

Mark whiz

herman & 1 Shot......................

Sorry I didn' t get back to you guys earlier (been a busy weekend [X(] )

AS far as what I have experienced with 777 powder, here goes:

1) I haven' t had a problem with fouling while shooting. I do normally spit-patch between each round at the range, and I' ve found that the spit patching for me is easier with 777 than it is when using Pyro. I understand that Knight' s tend to have bores that are " slightly" larger (.001 or .002" ) than many rifles - so what might not be a problem for me, might be for others. I have read where others HAVE had problems with loading when the bullet gets close to the breech area, where a " crud" ring develops sometimes - again, I' ve not had this problem either. I have loaded up to 5 consecutive rounds without any sort of cleaning and still had no problems getting the bullets seated on the powder charge.

2) I have had MAJOR problems with stuck breech plugs however. No matter what type of grease I' ve tried (Knight, lithium, anti-sieze, etc) the plug will stick hard enough that a hammer is required to break it loose even after firing only 1 shot [:@] . The ONLY thing that has worked for me is the T/C Breech Plug Tape. It is a heavy teflon tape and wrapping the threads about 1 1/2 times with it before installing the plug has solved my problem. The tape does make cleaning the threads more difficult, but it looks like I' ll be sticking with it; as I' d rather take a hammer to my head before taking one to any of my guns. BTW, after this particular session of almost 50rds - I had absolutely no trouble getting the teflon-taped plug out - which was pleasant surprise to end the day with .

Hope this helps you guys out.

RIStrutStopper

I had my breach plug frozen tight on my T/C Black Diamond XR to the point where I had to use my scope as leverage to break it free. Since then I have lubed the plug well with T/C Super Lube and have not repeated the problem. I also have shot multiple times with Triple 7 without cleaning between shots, no problem. I do think accuracy may suffer though. At 50 yards, I shoot clover leaf patterns, but haven' t quite tightened the groups at 100. I' ve only shot 240 grain sabots though using 90 g of powder. I' ll try heavier bullets this year and see how that helps.